State Of The Online Vampire Community 2011

[Merticus]

Read Me First:
   
State Of The Online Vampire Community 2010: Declining Participation Levels?
http://www.atlantavampirealliance.com/forum/index.php?topic=1946.0

State Of The Online Vampire Community 2011

By and large Yahoo Groups, LiveJournal, Ning/Spruz, MySpace, and most forums are flat-lined or have seen significant declines in participation since the posting/revisiting of this topic in 2006, 07, 08, 08, 09, 10, etc... the "cyclic" trend many claimed has remained in steady decline for the past six years.  At the moment, Facebook participation in the community accounts for the bulk of social networking interaction with active numbers (those discussing 'real' vampire-related topics with regularity) below 1,000 spread across nearly 70 groups/pages.  I'm not so much interested in debating the "causes" (if you perceive there to be any) as much as I am the exploration of "what's next?".

I've contended (and still do) that social interaction within the vampire community (social groups in general; not just the vampire community/subculture) mirrors Rogers' diffusion of innovations theory and that given the increase of smartphone/mobile usage, state of the global economy and an aging demographic we're simply unplugging -- placing more value on offline or direct peer-to-peer interactions.

See Also:

http://proc.conisar.org/2010/pdf/1526.pdf
http://faculty.quinnipiac.edu/charm/CHARM%20proceedings/CHARM%20article%20archive%20pdf%20format/Volume%2014%202009/liebrenz-himes%20dyer%20shamma.pdf



Question:

Looking past Facebook: When will the Facebook bubble burst and what's next in terms of "online" interaction for the vampire community?

[WingedWolfPsion]

I think it would be pure speculation to try to predict what will take the place of Facebook and similar social networking sites.  I don't think it's been invented, yet.

I do see social networking sites becoming more and more prominent, not just taking the place of forums and chats, but also increasingly being used as a platform for advertising and conducting business.

If I were to guess, I would guess that some combination of social networking and personal websites will be created, with better search functions, and more opportunities for businesses and social groups to draw new members to a more customized, but still simple, area.  I would also guess that as smartphone capabilities increase, this system will be able to be easily used on a phone.

I think 'Unplugging' is the right way to think of all this.  By making our computers more portable, we can get out into the room and do more, rather than sitting at home and typing...but we still want that online interaction.  We'll be able to take it with us.

The problem now is that people who are looking for information or social groups have trouble actually FINDING them...this 'in-between' era has a lot of low-traffic and dead areas, and so many different options, I think that people are actually getting lost.  A new way of categorizing social networking groups and sites may be needed to help sort through all of that dead space to allow people to actually find each other.

I think that the poor economy has also drained some of the life out of the community.  Those who have work, are working harder, and those who don't, are feeling depressed.  Everyone is a bit anxious.  That may make people less social in general, and I'd be curious to see if any studies on that have been conducted.

[the pink lady]

Looking past Facebook: When will the Facebook bubble burst and what's next in terms of "online" interaction for the vampire community?

I imagine Facebook will go away when something newer and different and supposedly better comes in to replace it. That won't be Google+, which is kinda like FB wearing Google branding. I think the next biggest social networking step will involve integrated audio and video chat, and the OVC members who embrace that format will lead that part of the community's online growth until something else comes along to supplant it.

I'm also thinking that Google might purchase Meetup.com outright or develop a product similar to it, and either lower the cost for organizers or make costs "free" through referrals and/or advertisements. Pay sites took a nosedive thanks to the economy, leading groups to migrate to cheap or free hosts. Price may become a more relevant factor in the OVC as webmasters try to pass their hosting costs on to their members.

As for smartphone/tablet technology, I think the OVC took strong and deep roots in social networking sites because of the sites' availability on those devices. (Just talk to Belfazaar Ashantison on his "Crackberry.") I think having flagship groups on all the active networks is important: there should be a strong group wherever people choose to spend their time, be it FB or G+ or what have you.

[legardored]

I give Facebook a few years till its market share drops again. I am sure they will find a new gimmick/feature to divulge more customer information but I doubt Facebook will be the innovator. I also doubt it is gonna be audio/video conferencing. They have been trying to get that going for several years now and al though it is viable for one on one chats and small groups It is virtually impossible to stretch it further than maybe 30 users on a reasonable budget.

My guess is that the investors want to get realtime context sensing as the new hype (for example If I say I think I am going to get a pizza I will get a list with pizzeria's located nearby. They aren't really concerned with enhancing the social aspect as much as getting the revenue out of it. (can't blame them its a business)

Regarding the interaction level of the vampire community I don't think we will see big changes for the coming years. blogs and some kind of social media site will keep the majority of people occupied. I won't be surprised if there is a small spike regarding users activity on forums when the next hype hits the deck but it will be short lived. 

Should forums be phased out because of this? No I do not think so. Forums are well designed for long period discussions and have some of the best search indexes. Social media sites are not concerned with debates or discussions. It is more like the coffee break at work short talk different opinions and the information lost after 5pm. Both have a value but on a different level.

Regarding the offline part I think it will always be the most desired method to interact. However it will also be the hardest to maintain and grow. But should we really be concerned by numbers of people we reach? Quality over quantity is something I am perfectly fine with.

 

[Gamael]

The cause is simple but since you do not wish to discuss this and would rather focus on the "what's next?" question I shall. The what's next is whatever is the most convenient. Right now with the technology we have everyone can connect to facebook with ease from just about anywhere. I am in the navy and even when my ship is out at sea I can still access facebook. So that makes it convenient. When facebook falls into the abyss of no longer used social networking pages then a new has been created that is more secure with information and more readily available than facebook was. It my very well be google+ if they go the right direction with its availability, its security and its design. But as previously mentioned above it is impossible to predict where the next place will be.